Alter Egos: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and the Twilight Struggle over American Power

New York Times White House correspondent Mark Landler takes us behind the speeches and press conferences, to the Situation Room debates and picnic-table lunches, where Obama and Clinton honed their two competing worldviews: his, cautious, inward-looking, suffused with a sense of limits; hers, muscular, optimistic, unabashedly old-fashioned.

Aircraft Carrier Wasn't Sailing to Deter North Korea, as U.S. Suggested

As worries deepened last week about whether North Korea would conduct a missile test, the White House declared that ordering a U.S. aircraft carrier into the Sea of Japan would send a powerful deterrent signal and give President Donald Trump more options in responding to the North’s provocative behavior.The problem was, the carrier, the Carl Vinson, and the four other warships in its strike force were at that very moment sailing in the opposite direction, to take part in joint exercises with the Australian navy in the Indian Ocean, 3,500 miles southwest of the Korean Peninsula.

"Aircraft Carrier Wasn't Sailing to Deter North Korea, as U.S. Suggested" is from the April 18, 2017 World section of The New York Times. It was written by Mark Landler and Eric Schmitt and narrated by Kristi Burns.

With Glare on Trump Children, Political Gets Personal for President

In private, President Donald Trump sometimes addresses his adult children as “baby,” a term of endearment tinged with a New Yorker’s wisecracking edge. And now that Trump’s babies have been swept into the vortex of his storm-tossed presidency, he is taking it personally.

"With Glare on Trump Children, Political Gets Personal for President" is from the July 12, 2017 World section of The New York Times. It was written by Mark Landler and Maggie Haberman and narrated by Kristi Burns.

Trump’s Preferred Candidate Wins Again, This Time in Saudi Arabia

President Donald Trump wasted no time Wednesday calling the newly named crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Less than 24 hours after King Salman elevated Prince Mohammed bin Salman, his 31-year-old son, Trump offered congratulations and celebrated the monarchy’s cooperation in rooting out terrorist financing and other issues.

"Trump’s Preferred Candidate Wins Again, This Time in Saudi Arabia" is from the June 21, 2017 World section of The New York Times. It was written by Mark Landler and Mark Mazzetti and narrated by Keith Sellon-Wright.

Where Trump Zigs, Tillerson Zags, Putting Him at Odds With White House

When Rex W. Tillerson, the former chief executive of Exxon Mobil, arrived in Washington five months ago to become the secretary of state, his boosters said he brought two valuable assets to a job that had usually gone to someone steeped in government and diplomacy: a long history managing a global company, and deep relationships from the Middle East to Russia that enabled him to close deals.

"Where Trump Zigs, Tillerson Zags, Putting Him at Odds With White House" is from the June 25, 2017 World section of The New York Times. It was written by David E. Sanger, Gardiner Harris and Mark Landler and narrated by Kristi Burns.

Obama’s Farewell Address: ‘Yes We Did’

Speaking to a rapturous crowd that recalled the excitement of his path-breaking campaign in 2008, Obama said he believed even the deepest ideological divides could be bridged. His words were nevertheless etched with frustration — a blunt coda to a remarkable day that laid bare many of the racial crosscurrents in the country.

Pope Francis and Trump Meet at the Vatican

Pope Francis welcomed President Donald Trump to the Vatican on Wednesday, shaking his hand before ushering him into his study for the first face-to-face meeting of the two leaders, who symbolize starkly different views of the world.

"Pope Francis and Trump Meet at the Vatican" is from the May 24, 2017 World section of The New York Times. It was written by Mark Landler and Jason Horowitz and narrated by .

On the afternoon of May 1, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, welcomed a high-level delegation of Saudis to a gilded reception room next door to the White House and delivered a brisk pep talk: “Let’s get this done today.”

"A $110 Billion Weapons Sale to Saudi Arabia Has Kushner's Personal Touch" is from the May 18, 2017 World section of The New York Times. It was written by Mark Landler, Eric Schmitt and Matt Apuzzo and narrated by Jef Holbrook.

In NATO Speech, Trump Is Vague About Mutual Defense Pledge

President Donald Trump on Thursday once again refused to explicitly endorse NATO’s mutual defense pledge, instead lecturing European leaders on what he called their “chronic underpayments” to the military alliance.

"In NATO Speech, Trump Is Vague About Mutual Defense Pledge" is from the May 25, 2017 World section of The New York Times. It was written by Michael D. Shear, Mark Landler and James Kanter and narrated by Kristi Burns.

Trump Administration Is Split on Adding Troops in Afghanistan

When President Donald Trump landed in Saudi Arabia on Saturday on his first foreign trip, he brought with him a $110 billion arms deal. When he arrives at the NATO summit in Belgium on Thursday, he will bring mostly questions, many of them about the war in Afghanistan.

"Trump Administration Is Split on Adding Troops in Afghanistan" is from the May 23, 2017 World section of The New York Times. It was written by Mark Landler and Eric Schmitt and narrated by Kristi Burns.

Trump Says He Did Not Tape Comey Conversations

President Donald Trump acknowledged Thursday that he had not recorded his conversations with James B. Comey, the FBI director he fired amid the Justice Department’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia.

"Trump Says He Did Not Tape Comey Conversations" is from the June 22, 2017 U.S. section of The New York Times. It was written by Mark Landler and narrated by Kristi Burns.

Trump Aides Recruited Businessmen to Devise Options for Afghanistan

President Donald Trump’s advisers recruited two businessmen who profited from military contracting to devise alternatives to the Pentagon’s plan to send thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan, reflecting the Trump administration’s struggle to define its strategy for dealing with a war now 16 years old.

"Trump Aides Recruited Businessmen to Devise Options for Afghanistan" is from the July 10, 2017 World section of The New York Times. It was written by Mark Landler, Eric Schmitt and Michael R. Gordon and narrated by Keith Sellon-Wright.

Some U.S. Diplomats Stage Quiet Revolt Amid Tensions With Trump

As President Donald Trump strains alliances and relationships around the world, some of the nation’s top career diplomats are breaking publicly with him, in what amounts to a quiet revolt by a cadre of public servants known for their professional discretion.

"Some U.S. Diplomats Stage Quiet Revolt Amid Tensions With Trump" is from the June 05, 2017 U.S. section of The New York Times. It was written by Mark Landler and narrated by Keith Sellon-Wright.

Trump Backed off Putin Because ‘What Do You Do? End up in a Fistfight?’

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he had confronted President Vladimir Putin twice about whether Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election, and changed the subject after Putin flatly denied it because, “What do you do? End up in a fistfight?”

"Trump Backed off Putin Because ‘What Do You Do? End up in a Fistfight?’" is from the July 13, 2017 World section of The New York Times. It was written by Maggie Haberman and Mark Landler and narrated by Mike DelGaudio.

Trump Officials Brace for Anger at Duterte Call

When President Donald Trump called President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines on Saturday, White House officials saw it as part of a routine diplomatic outreach to Southeast Asian leaders. Trump, characteristically, had his own ideas.

"Trump Officials Brace for Anger at Duterte Call" is from the April 30, 2017 U.S. section of The New York Times. It was written by Mark Landler and narrated by Keith Sellon-Wright.

New Goal for Trump's First Foreign Trip: Damage Control

For months, President Donald Trump’s senior advisers had planned his first foreign trip with hopes of investing it with historic grandeur: a tour of the world’s three great monotheistic religions, capped by an address to the Muslim world in Saudi Arabia that will serve as Trump’s answer to the speech former President Barack Obama gave in Cairo in 2009.

"New Goal for Trump's First Foreign Trip: Damage Control" is from the May 17, 2017 U.S. section of The New York Times. It was written by Mark Landler and narrated by Keith Sellon-Wright.

A Long List of Economic Burdens, Bolstered by Dubious Data

In making his case for abandoning the Paris climate accord, President Donald Trump characterized the agreement as an economic straitjacket — one that would impose terrible burdens on Americans by shuttering the coal industry, suffocating growth and redistributing jobs and wealth from the United States to its competitors.

"A Long List of Economic Burdens, Bolstered by Dubious Data" is from the June 02, 2017 World section of The New York Times. It was written by Mark Landler, Brad Plumer and Linda Qiu and narrated by Mike DelGaudio.